Buoyant vest



April 26, 1966 E, G, BAKR 3,247,531

BUOYANT VEST Filed Dec. 24, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 z NvENToR. G. Bazel? HTTOPNEYS April 26, 1966 E. G. BAKER 3,247,531

BUOYANT VEST Filed Dec. 24, 1963 2 Sheets-51168122 Il INVENTOR.

Enea@ 6. BAKER QTTOPNEY United States Patent 3,247,531 BUDYANT VEST Edgar G. Entrer, Carbondale, Pa., assigner to :Gentex Corporation, New York, NSY., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 24, 1963, Ser. No. 333,007 Claims. (Cl. 9-338) My invention relates to a buoyant vest and .more particularly to an improved buoyant vest which is more co'mfortable than are vests of the prior art.

There :are known in the prior art many .forms of jackets and the like adapted to support the wearers body in the water. One form of this device knownyin the prior art is a buoyant vest of resilient molded material provided wit-h la neck opening -by means of which it can ybe slipped over the wearers bead. The body of the vest below the neck opening carries a belt which is secu-red around the wearers body to hold the front of lthe vest against the body.

While vests of the type described above do perform the function of buoyantly supporting the wearers body in the water, generally they `are not as comfortable as is desirable. After .the vest |has lbeen slipped over the Wearers head and the belt secured around the middle of .the wearers body, a portion of the vest body engages the wearers chest and the 4back of the vest behind the neck opening is forced into engagement with the back of the neck. This is owing to the relatively sharp curve formed in the vest body yas the front of the vest is drawn into engagement with the body.

Moreover, in constructions of the prior art, owing to the manner in which the belt is secured to the body of the vest, as tension is applied to the belt, the vast body tends to remain straight in the transverse direction so that it must be forcibly drawn against the body to conform to the shape of the body. For the foregoing reasons, buoyant vests of the prior art are not as comfortable as is desirable. Since the material of the vest is drawn tightly against the wearers body over most of the extent of the vest, it is extremely hot.

I have invented a buoyant vest which overcomes the defects of buoyant vests of the prior art pointed out hereinabove. When my vest is secured to the wearers body, it forms a gentle curve over substantially the entire front of its body while preventing the back from being thrown into engagement with the back of the neck. Moreover, the body of the vest is not forced tightly into engagementV with the wearers chest so that ventilation is provided. I secure the belt to the body of the vest in such a manner that the latter naturally conforms to the wearers body as tension is applied to the belt.

One object of my invention is to provide a buoyant vest which is more comfortable than are buoyant vests of the prior art. Y

Another object of my invention is to provide a buoyant vest which permits ventilation.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a buoyant vest which conforms naturally to the wearers body as the vest belt is tightened.

Other Iand further objects of my invention will appear from the following description.

In general my invention contemplates the provision of a buoyant vest of resilient molded material in which a boss formed on the underside of the Vest front adjacent the bottom of the vest engages the middle of the wearers body as the belt is tightened to cause the vest to curve over substantially the entire length of its front so that the wearers chest is not tightly engaged and the portion behind the neck opening is not forcibly engaged with the back of the neck. I provide my vest with belt securing 3,247,531 Patented Apr. 26, 1966 ice FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of my improved buoyi ant vest.

FIGURE 3 is a rear elevation of my improved buoyant vest.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of my improved buoyant vest taken along the line 4 4 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of my improved buoyant vest illustrating the manner in which the vest body curves as tension Vis applied tothe vest belt, taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, my improved buoyant vest, indicated generally by the reference character 10, comprises abody 12 which is molded from a suitable buoyant material. For example, I may mold the body 12 from expanded polyvinyl chloride. After molding the body 12 may be painted or it may be covered with a suitable fabric, if desired.

In thecourse of molding, I provide the body 12 with a generally circular neck opening 14 and'with a base 16 at the front of the vest. The jacket has a small back 18. The distribution of buoyant Vmaterial is about 70 percent in the front 12 to -about 30 percent in the rear or back 18. Owing to this distribution, if the wearer falls in the water, he tendsto assume a face-up position. Thus, if the wearer is unconscious, my vest 10 ensures that he will float with his face up and with his head out of the Water.

A short passage 26 in the body 12 leads from Ithe neck opening 14 to a generally circular opening 22 of relatively large radius. This opening 22 permits the vest to ilex without tearing so that it can'be slippedover the wearers head. Y

I form the base 16 of the body 12 with a pair of transversely spaced openings 24 and 26 andV with a shallow channel 23 extending across the front of the base 16. I train a length of webbing 30 through the openings 24 and 26 -around the portions 32, 34 and 360i the base 16 formed by the openings 24 and 26. I employ any suitable means such, for example, as stitching 3S to hold the ends of the length Stiftogether.

i length through a pair of cinch rings 4) and 42. disposed at the front of the base 16 adjacent the opening 26.

`These cinch rings 40 and 42 receive an end of the vest belt 44 in such a way as permits the length of the belt to be adjusted by pulling on the free end 4.6. The portion of the length 30 extending into the opening `24- reoeives a belt buckle member 48 provided with an upstandin-g loop 5t) adapted to receive a T-head 52 Vcarried by another buckle frame member 54 helld at the end of the belt 44 remote from the end 45 in the loop 56 held in the belt by stitching 58. As will be explained hereinafter, when the wearer dons the vest 10 after having inserted his head through the opening 14, he passes the belt around his Waist and engages the head 52 with the loop 50 securely to hold the vest on his body.

I form the underside of the front 12 of the vest 1,0 with a pad or base 6d so positioned as to engage `the upper middle of the wearers body whenthe Vvest is donned. It is to be noted that each of the portions` 62 and 64 adapted to overlie the Wearers shoulders are formed of reduced cross-sectional area. As will be apparent from the description of the operation of my vest advanced hereinbelow, this feature adds to the comfort of the vest. v

The operation of my buoyant vest can best be understood by reference to FIGURES 4 and 5 of the drawings. When the wearer wishes to don the vest, he spreads the body along the channel 20 to enlarge the opening 14 sufficiently to permit him to pass his head through the opening. When the vest is released, opening 14 assumes its original size to prevent the vest from readily slipping over the wearers head. It will readily be appreciated that the opening 22 permits the body to be spread to enlarge opening 14 without the danger of tearing the body material.

After the vest has been placed over the wearers head, he passes the belt 44 around his back and then engages the T-head 52 with the loop 50. If necessary, he can pull on the end 46 t0 adjust the length of the belt 44. As the buckle members 52 land 50 are engaged, the boss 69 contacts the upper middle part of the body and the vest is caused to asstune a relatively gentle curve over its front portion so that no excessive force is exerted on the back of the wearers neck. At the same time it tends to come away from the chest area somewhat to permit ventilation in hot weather. Owing to the reduced crosssectional area of the two shoulder portions 62 and 64, these two parts form flexing points to ensure that the vest exerts no excessive pressure at points on the wearers body. That is, this feature of construction, together with the pad 60, ensures a gentle curve over the front of the wearers body and that the portion in back of the neck opening will not be forced into engagement with the back of the wearers head. When tension is applied to the `belt 44, it naturally tends to assume the shape shown in FIGURE in which it is bowed in a direction transversely of the base 16 so that it readily conforms to the shape of the body. This results from the compressive forces exerted by the loops of the webbing 30 which pass around the sections 32 and 34. The tension exerted on the portion of the webbing adjacent the wearers body enhances this effect. These forces act together to cause the body 12 to assume the shape shown. The curvature of the vest in the direction of its length, as well as the curvature transversely of the vest provide the wearer with a comfortable t 'and with a maximum degree of freedom of movement without discomfort. The vest is ventilated for hot weather.

It will be seen that I have accomplished the objects of my invention. I have provided an improved buoyant vest which is more comfortable Ythan are vests of the prior art. My vest ensures that llocalized excessive forces are not exerted on the wearers body. It provides ventilation for use in hot we-ather.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of my claims. It is further obvious that Various changes may be made in details within the scope of my claims without departing from the spirit of my invention. It is, therefore, to be understood that my invention is not to be limited to the specific details shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I cl-aim is:

1. A buoyant vest including in combination a mass of resilient material formed with a neck opening and provided with vest front and vest shoulder portions and a vest portion defining the back of the neck opening, said front having a pair of transversely spaced openings adjacent the bottom thereof to form a central body portion between `said openings and portions outboard of said openings, a length of material extending across the underside of said front between said openings, a belt for securing said mass to a wearers body, means for securing said belt to said length and to said mass to compress said outboard portions and to tension said length in response to tension on said belt and a pad on one side of said front above said openings for engaging the wearers body, said mass having a smaller generally circular opening below said neck opening and a narrow passage connecting said openings.

2. A buoyant vest incl-uding in combination a mass of resilient material formed with a neck opening and provided with vest front and vest shoulder portions and a vest portion defining the back of the neck opening, said front having a pair of transversely spaced openings adjacent the bottom thereof to form a central body portion between said openings and portions outboard of said openings, a length of material extending across the underside of said front between said openings, a belt for securing said mass to a Wearers body, means for securing said belt to said length and to `said mass to compress said outboard portions and to tension said length in response to tension on said belt and a pad of resilient material protruding from the rear surface of said front above said openings for engaging the front of the wearers body.

3. In a buoyant vest a buoyant mass having a pair of laterally spaced openings therein forming a central mass portion between said openings and mass portions outboard of said openings, a length of material surrounding said central portion and said outboard portion, said length of material having loops extending into said openings from back to front of said mass, a belt and means for connecting said belt directly to said loops, said beit -being free of said length at the outermost portions thereof whereby tension on said belt is .applied to said length at said loop to compress said outboard mass portions and to tension a portion of said length extending between said openings at the back of said mass to how said mass to conform to a wearers body.

4. A Vbuoyant vest including .in combination a unitary `body of resilient floatation material provided with a neck opening tand formed with vest front and vest shoulder portions and a vest portion dening the rear of the neck opening, means yfor secu-ring the lower part of said vest front to the wearers body, said shoulder portions being provided with reduced cross-sectional areas forming tiexure regions and a pad of said resilient flo-atation material protruding from the rear surface of said front above said securing `means for engaging the front of the wearers body.

5. In .a buoyant vest a lbuoyant mass adapted to be secured to a wearers body, -a belt being under tension when said vest is secured to the wearers body and connecting means for applying the tension of said belt directly to said mass at spaced points across its width to cause said tension on said belt to bow `said mass to conform to a wearers body, and a pad extending outwardly from the rear surface of the mass :above the Ibelt for engaging the front of the wearerrs body.

6. In a buoyant vest a buoyant mass of resilient material provided with a pair of laterally spaced openings forming a central mass portion between said openings and mass portions outboard of said openings, a length of material extending across the back of said ymass and comprising a portion extending between said openings at the Iback of said mass, a belt and means for securing said belt to said length portion at said openinvs, said belt being tree of said length over the outboard portions thereof to compress said outboard portions of said mass and to tension said length to bow said mass in response to tension on said belt.

7. A buoyant vest including .in combination a unitarymolded lbody of' resilient buoyant material formed with a neck opening, a portion of said body forming a smaller generally circular opening below said neck opening Iand a narrow passage having extended generaliy straight and parallel sides connecting said neck opening and said generally circular opening, said passage having a length of the same order of magnitude as the diameter of said smaller opening and having a width -appreciably less than the diameter of said smaller opening, said openings and said passage forming a closed perimeter and means for securing .said mass to a Wearers body.

8. A buoyant vest including in combination a body of iiexible -oatation material .formed with a neck opening, said body formed with front and shoulder portions and a portion dening the rear of the neck opening, means for securing said vest to the wearers body :and a pad protruding from the rear surface of the front portion adjacent the wearer for engaging the front of the wearers body to promote a comfortable lit of said vest.

9. A buoyant vest including in combination a body of resilient buoyant material formed with a neck opening, said body being formed with front and shoulder portions and a portion defining the rear of the neck opening, means for secu-ring the lower part of said front portion to the wearers body and a pad protruding yfrom lthe rear surface of the front portion adjacent `the wearer above said securing means for engaging the front of the wearers body to promote a comfort-able fit of said vest.

10. A buoyant vest including in combination a unitary body of resilient buoyant material provided with a neck opening and Vformed With a vest fro-nt and vest shoulder portions and a vest portion deining the rear of the neck opening, means for securing the lower part of said vest front to the Wearers body and a pad extending outwardly from the rear surface of said vest front above said securing means -for engaging the front lof the wearers body to promote a comfortable iit of said vest.

References Cited by the Examiner l UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,037,220 6/ 1962 lantzen 9-338 X 3,125,771 3/1964 Coolidge 9-338 X 3,152,343 10/1964 Brown 9-338 X FOREIGN PATENTS 889,158 2/1962 Great Britain.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner.

FERGUS S. MIDDLETON, Examiner. 

10. A BUOYANT VEST INCLUDING IN COMBINATION A UNITARY BODY OF RESILIENT BUOYANT MATERIAL PROVIDED WITH A NECK OPENING AND FORMED WITH A VEST FRONT AND VEST SHOULDER PORTIONS AND A VEST PORTION DEFINING THE REAR OF THE NECK OPENING, MEANS FOR SECURING THE LOWER PART OF SAID VEST FRONT TO THE WEARER''S BODY AND A PAD EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM THE REAR SURFACE OF SAID VEST FRONT ABOVE SAID SECURING MEANS FOR ENGAGING THE FRONT OF THE WEARER''S BODY TO PROMOTE A COMFORTABLE FIT OF SAID VEST. 